Why Zepto Is Holding Fire on Filing DRHP for its IPO? CEO Aadit Palicha Explains

Amid reports suggesting delay in Zepto IPO plans, cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha clarified that there is a deferral due to a private funding opportunity, not because of a lack of readiness, as per The Economic Times report. As of now, the quick commerce platform has not filed the draft red herring prospectus yet.

“…we are in a position where it looks like – given the company is growth and profitability path – we’ll have a significant increase in our domestic ownership. We still have about Rs 7,000 crore of cash in bank, but our thought process is that, before we actually file for this IPO, we can close a pretty large transaction that puts our domestic ownership and balance sheet at an ever stronger position,” Palicha told ET.

As a part of IPO process, the quick commerce start-up has done a bonus issuance, changed its name to ‘Zepto Private Limited’, and drafted about 65% of the DRHP. Hence, Zepto is in position to file the DRHP within weeks, the report added.

Zepto had chosen bankers “Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Axis Capital” to pursue the listing. The IPO timeline has reportedly been extended multiple times, with internal discussions highlighting the need for stronger financial metrics before pursuing a public listing.

This came after Zepto secured a $100 million boost in domestic ownership. The fresh investments came from Motilal Oswal Financial Services founders Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal, valuing the company at $5 billion. It aims to increase its domestic ownership to over 50% before listing.

The start-up’s early foreign investors are diluting their stake, offloading 10–15% of their holding. Currently, Zepto’s domestic shareholding stands at 18%, but this percentage is expected to surpass 20% after the secondary deals. It is pertinent to note that Zepto’s last funding round was also led by domestic investors.

An additional $250 million is likely to be raised soon, with Edelweiss and HeroMoto among the expected participants in the upcoming secondary share sale.

Zepto, meanwhile, has quietly scaled its fresh category by four times in 12 months, from 6.4 lakh to 22.1 lakh units sold per day. It now works directly with thousands of farmers across over 70 collection centres.